strippers and inert .303 where best to purchase

[John Reidy]

strippers and inert .303 where best to purchase

 

[4thGordons]

I suspect the answer is going to depend upon where in the world you are.

I assume you are referring to "chargers" rather than people taking their clothes off ?

 

Early WWI pattern chargers are actually quite difficult to get and increasingly expensive. Later chargers with circular rather than oval holes etc are easy to find and cheap.

I'd be happy to send you a couple if you want!

Inert rounds are harder to find (you can get "snap caps" but they tend to be garish colours - probably the best source of inert rounds would especially if you want more than a couple, would be a "tame" reloader who could make them up for you.

One can sometimes find period "drill" rounds but these too are a little expensive.

 

If you are in the US -- something like this might work? (i have not used this company), if you are in the UK then perhaps these would work.

 

Chris

Edited 6 December , 2018 by 4thGordons

[John Reidy]

Thank you Chris for replying although and apologies for my delayed replying., sorry but I do refer to chargers and not the other! Ha ha. I looked at your website advised by you and I am in the purchase of buying some inert .303 rounds. Your offer of sending me some clips is very considerate, if you have any spare I would be delighted to accept;

Im very near Manchester

 

my Regards

 

John J Reidy

Manchester Regiment 1914-1918

[DavidOwen]

41 minutes ago, John Reidy said:

Thank you Chris for replying although and apologies for my delayed replying., sorry but I do refer to chargers and not the other! Ha ha. I looked at your website advised by you and I am in the purchase of buying some inert .303 rounds. Your offer of sending me some clips is very considerate, if you have any spare I would be delighted to accept; my address is;

Im very near Manchester

 

my Regards

 

John J Reidy

Manchester Regiment 1914-1918

John

The forum can be seen openly on Google and other search engines. So I have removed your address from the post for your security.

Please send the details to 4th Gordons by private message - click on the name and then select message, this will be far more secure.

Regards

David

[4thGordons]

As David says - pm me an address and I will send you a few.

Chris

Edited 28 April , 2019 by 4thGordons

[new3.2]

John-  For a take on what Chris said if you know any one who reloads ammunition, that person might well have an inertia bullet puller, and it is an easy job to remove the bullet, pour out the powder, then replace the bullet.  Would the live primer be a problem in the UK?

new3.2

[Dave1418]

Hi

Yes live primers are a problem as if the head is replaced, ‘primed case with a head’ does indeed become section 1 ammunition as per the firearms act and thus illegal. Ideally this is a course of action best avoided.

regards

 

[MikB]

54 minutes ago, Dave1418 said:

Hi

Yes live primers are a problem as if the head is replaced, ‘primed case with a head’ does indeed become section 1 ammunition as per the firearms act and thus illegal. Ideally this is a course of action best avoided.

regards

 

Is an oiled primer, with oily sand or tissue replacing the powder, no longer OK as deactivation then? Rounds treated this way used to be sold as collectors' cartridges.

[Joolz]

It's a myth that a squirt of oil will deactivate primers. There is plenty of practical evidence that primers will still go off even when oiled, and I certainly wouldn't bet my life on it....

 

I've deactivated plenty of rounds and the only surefire way is to pop the primer out, pull the 'anvil' and take out the fulminate, then put the primer back in, fiddly, but do-able (although doing a lot of these is a real chore, and Berdan primers are a nightmare....).

 

I tend to only really do this with collectable ammo that is only going to be used in display. If it's going to be chambered in a gun, I would generally use rounds with fired primers, for fear of mixing live and inert ammo. That dimple in the primer tells me instantly that the round is safe to cycle through the action without any possibility of it going 'bang'. Likewise, it tells any curious onlooker (police?) that the round is, indeed, inert.

 

Just my 2p worth.

[Chasemuseum]

"That dimple in the primer tells me instantly that the round is safe to cycle through the action without any possibility of it going 'bang'. Likewise, it tells any curious onlooker (police?) that the round is, indeed, inert."

 

All depends on the police in a specific jurisdiction. Here in NSW Australia, the argument is that the indented primer may be a "misfire" and that it is still a live round. So if a round is going to be displayed in a museum or held without a permit it needs to have the primer removed from the primer pocket.

 

The alternative is to drill a readily visible hole through the side of the case.

 

Both are a poor practice for rare cartridges, but there are no other options.

 

Airport security is another matter. I have been in line when the gentleman in front of me had a "cartridge key-chain". A gilded cartridge with the ring passing through two holes drilled through the case. He just had to surrender it, but was allowed to keep his car key.

Cheers

Ross

[MikB]

4 hours ago, Chasemuseum said:

"That dimple in the primer tells me instantly that the round is safe to cycle through the action without any possibility of it going 'bang'. Likewise, it tells any curious onlooker (police?) that the round is, indeed, inert."

 

All depends on the police in a specific jurisdiction. Here in NSW Australia, the argument is that the indented primer may be a "misfire" and that it is still a live round. So if a round is going to be displayed in a museum or held without a permit it needs to have the primer removed from the primer pocket.

 

The alternative is to drill a readily visible hole through the side of the case.

 

...

Cheers

Ross

 

You can tell a misfire if the dimple has a sloping periphery rather than a sharp edge from an otherwise flat primer face - it shows the primer wasn't subjected to internal pressure as it would be in a fired case.

 

Whenever I've wanted to remove all doubt, I've taken out the indentation and the anvil with a small centre-drill in the lathe - minimal interference and no possibility of re-use.

 

I've certainly found that oil does work in deactivating primers - but it can evaporate, allowing them to re-activate. I thought that's why collector's cartridge sellers put oiled sand or tissue in the case body - to keep up the vapour pressure and stop the primer drying out.

[Joolz]

MikB, in all the years I've been doing this, it's never occurred to me to just drill a tiny hole where the dimple in the primer is......that would, of course, be a definitive solution with minimal damage, and retaining the primer in its pocket for aesthetics....thanks for suggesting that option.

 

As for the oil/sand filled cartridges, that may be fine if you are just going to mount them on a bullet board or permanent display, but if you wish to use them to cycle through an action, for demonstration purposes in public at an event etc., there would always be a risk (small/large/who knows what the odds are) that it could still go off with what would effectively be a live primer. The bullet may only travel a few inches up the barrel, or it may exit it completely, either way, my insurer would certainly have a heart attack, and I would probably need a change of underwear.... it's all about risk and outcomes. This is why I would always advise, in such circumstances, to deactivate the primer itself.

[trajan]

12 hours ago, Chasemuseum said:

... Airport security is another matter. I have been in line when the gentleman in front of me had a "cartridge key-chain". A gilded cartridge with the ring passing through two holes drilled through the case. He just had to surrender it, but was allowed to keep his car key.

 

Even long before the present hassles of airline security checks, back in the late 1980's, I got hauled out at London Heathrow for having an empty cartridge case in my pockets, picked up while on field survey in an army training ground. I was, however, allowed to keep it... My personal opinion on these checks I will keep to myself, not the least because I am happily allowed to board 'planes with my usual sharp pencils somewhere around me for writing in my notebook when bored while stuck in a cigar tube...